LEXINGTON, Ky. — The University of Kentucky is used to finding recruits at the prestigious Peach Jam AAU tournament each summer.

They generally end up playing basketball for the Wildcats, though. Calvin Taylor bucked that trend.

Taylor, who spent his summers in high school traveling the AAU circuit in basketball and eventually made a cameo at Peach Jam, the crowning event in Nike’s Elite Youth Basketball League, is a defensive end for the Wildcats' football program.

“Calvin coming through high school would have told you he was going to go play basketball,” said Keith Walton, Taylor’s football coach at Augusta Christian High School in Georgia. “As a football coach, I’m looking at this kid with all this size and thinking, ‘You need to play football.’ He’s always played in high school, not necessarily committed his whole heart to it like he is now though because he always thought his bread was going to be buttered by basketball.”

At 6-foot-9, Taylor reportedly elicited recruiting interest in basketball from Bowling Green and others. Temple accounted for the bulk of his football interest, but contact dropped amid turnover on the coaching staff and Taylor’s inability to schedule an official visit to campus due to his basketball schedule.

By the time football signing day rolled around in Taylor’s senior year, there was no Division I offer on the table. Grades were no issue for Taylor, a member of the Spanish club and Quiz Bowl team at Augusta Christian, but junior college seemed like the most likely route to continuing his football career.

A call from one of his junior-college contacts to former Kentucky defensive line coach Jimmy Brumbaugh saved him from that detour.

“It was just like fate,” Walton said. “Calvin goes up to visit, loves the school and says, ‘This is home, this is where I need to be.’”

Even after signing with Kentucky, Taylor was considered a project who might develop into a useful player after committing to football full-time.

UK coaches initially considered playing him at offensive tackle before deciding he was a better fit on the defensive line. He redshirted in 2015 and recorded just one tackle in four games last season, but UK defensive coordinator Matt House and defensive line coach Derrick LeBlanc both pointed to him during preseason practices this month as a young player making strides for a much-maligned defensive line.

“Calvin is Mr. Coachable,” LeBlanc said. “He does everything right, he’s where he’s supposed to be, he’s in his gap, he can get off blocks. He’s just so long every now and then he bats a ball or two down, so he’s right where he needs to be. He’s right on pace as a young sophomore of being a really good player for us. I’m excited about him.”

Taylor’s 6-foot-9 frame is both a strength and concern at defensive end.

Complaints from offensive linemen are common — “Man, your arms are so long,” Taylor said — but he struggles at times to stay low enough to gain leverage against bulkier offensive tackles.

Taylor’s Augusta Christian teammate Zach Giella signed with Clemson as a three-star offensive lineman in the 2015 class. Unlike Taylor, Giella was a frequent participant in summer football camps and recruiting events.

“Even when all the coaches would come through (to see Giella) — Michigan State, all of them — they all talked about Calvin could play on Sunday if all of his chips were in on the table for just football,” Walton said. “… (Giella) says by far Calvin is the most difficult person I’ve ever had to block. Not because he’s so powerful; he’s so long it’s awkward. It’s awkward trying to block him.”

While Taylor works to break into the defensive line rotation, his height lends itself to a place on Kentucky’s field-goal block team.

And if he does finally cash in on the football talent Walton projected in high school, it’s fitting it would come at a school known for its basketball prowess.

“He’s got a hooper body,” LeBlanc said. “He probably should be on a basketball court somewhere, but he’s almost 300 pounds. He’s got so much length he can spread out and take up two gaps and stick his arms out and knock down passes. We’re excited about Calvin.”

Email Jon Hale at jahale@courier-journal.com. Follow him on Twitter @JonHale_CJ.